Freefly Systems Accelerates Drone Innovation with Formlabs Fuse 3D Printing

From capturing cinematic footage at freezing high altitudes to mapping scorching deserts, drones must be reliable, lightweight, and capable of carrying valuable gear in extreme environments.

“We're an innovation company; anything that gets your idea to the world more quickly is what we live for. So that can be new software packages that allow us to run simulations and figure out an airfoil more quickly than ever, or a 3D printer—anything that improves the velocity and allows people to get their creativity into the world more quickly than before is what we're excited about.”

Tabb Firchau, Co‑founder and CEO, Freefly Systems

Reliability Rooted in Cinema

Freefly’s journey began with a $200,000 camera‑and‑lens rig that demanded the highest reliability. That experience forged a culture of rigorous testing, iterative flight trials, and a relentless focus on performance. Today, the company’s drones can carry payloads up to 35 lb—including expensive camera gear or LiDAR—while remaining nimble and robust.

Rapid Prototyping with Formlabs Fuse Series

One of the tools that turns concepts into flight‑ready parts is the Formlabs Fuse Series. Nate Kuczun, Payloads and Systems Engineer, explains:

“The Fuse is one of the most versatile tools we have for prototyping. We’re constantly trying new ideas and we need to move quickly, so having a tool that lets us do that is really important.”

Prototype parts for the Alta X Gen2 were printed overnight, allowing the team to test geometry, strength, and fit before committing to mass production. With the Fuse, design changes can be made and printed within a single day, dramatically shortening the product development cycle.

Flight‑Driven Design Decisions

Freefly gathers thousands of flight hours on a drone before it hits the market, including five years of accelerated lifecycle testing. Real‑world data drives every design tweak, ensuring that the final product meets the demands of extreme conditions.

“In drones, iteration cycles are often significantly faster than most aerospace projects. In a lot of other aerospace systems, it’s much harder to get real flight data. But here we can actually test things in the real world pretty quickly. Having the Fuse allows us to come up with a really quick and easy way to get hardware onto our drones for different testing.”

Case Studies

Antenna Masts
The dual‑GPS system on the Alta X Gen2 required a complex part with fine internal structures. Multiple iterations were rapidly produced on the Fuse Series, allowing the team to refine fit and signal integrity.

FPV Camera Mount
Initial FDM prototypes repeatedly failed due to internal stresses. Switching to the Fuse Series produced a robust mount with intricate internal features, ready for immediate flight testing.

Mount Power
This core component was prototyped on the Fuse Series before injection molding, serving as a reference for the final part and ensuring functional accuracy.

GPS and LiDAR Mounts
Prototypes printed on the Fuse Series enabled rapid testing before committing to machined aluminum production parts.

While many parts are only prototyped on the Fuse Series, some, such as the Herelink Radio Module Component, are manufactured directly on the printer. The in‑house process reduces supply‑chain uncertainty and speeds time‑to‑market.

After printing, parts are depowdered in Fuse Sift and polished in Fuse Blast, streamlining the workflow and ensuring consistent quality.

Material Choice for Performance

Freefly uses Nylon 12 powder in both the Fuse 1 and Fuse 1+ 30 W machines. This material offers high strength, durability, and light weight—ideal for flight‑testing parts that will eventually be injection‑molded or CNC‑machined.

“We continue to push towards making our products the easiest possible to use—and make sure that they're super robust and reliable along the way.”

Freefly drones are already revolutionizing film production, wildfire monitoring, infrastructure inspections, and natural‑disaster mapping. The company’s commitment to rapid prototyping with the Fuse Series keeps it at the forefront of drone and camera innovation.

Ready to let your next idea take flight? Explore Formlabs SLS 3D printers or contact sales to start printing today.